


Captain Burke, Introduction and personal logs

by WineDarkPauldrons



Category: Star Trek
Genre: Star Trek RPG
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29300877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WineDarkPauldrons/pseuds/WineDarkPauldrons
Summary: A brief introduction to Captain Adelaide Burke, an OC I created for an TTRPG.





	Captain Burke, Introduction and personal logs

**Author's Note:**

> This was the character bio I wrote up for a captain character I created for a Star Trek RPG I ran with my friends. It was a really cool "living" game were the GM would submit game notes to the publisher and the story would evolve based on the failures and successes of our ship and those of two or three others. It was very cool. I liked playing Burke. Her drink of choice was a Big Gulp Slurpee. Blue, of course.
> 
> I'm using this as a test piece to learn how to post here. Happy reading.

Adelaide was born in 2339 to federation diplomats Dr.Jessica Hewitt-Burke and Randolph Burke, on Lunar One, the second of four children. She has an older brother Caleb, and twin sisters Stella and Selene. As a child, her parents would regularly host foreign and alien dignitaries. Her first memories are of being awoken late at night by boisterous revelry of Klingon guests. One of her favorite visitors was Uncle Martok. She loved listening to his stories of valor fighting alongside General ShiVang. Her father would tease that it was her sweet disposition that melted the hearts of their Klingon guests making them more open to peace talks. Even going as far as to suggest to Uncle Martok that she be betrothed to a young warrior-in-training of his house, Edahk. Neither youth took the threat seriously, and would often joke about being married one day, staying in touch even during the years of tension between the Empire and Federation.

_~_ _My fist hurt. Edahk went sprawling across the sun-warmed tiles of the veranda. Oh, no… We were only supposed to be practicing, I wasn’t supposed to actually hit him…_ _  
__He stared up at me stunned, blood trickling from his nose. “Excellent strike!” he laughed, sitting up, wiping blood from his lip “you’ll make a fine Klingon.” Edahk scrambled to his feet, taking up an offensive stance “your strength is good, but your technique could be refined, try again.” I could only be concerned. “Are you ok?” I asked, reaching for his face, to examine the damage. He playfully slapped away my hand. “Don’t fret over me like you’re my wife, now hit me again,” he demanded. I had to chuckle at that “well, according to Uncle Martok, I will be. I might as well practice my fretting as well as my Mok’bara, right?” I returned to my striking posture, “besides, don’t Kilingon women punch their husbands as a sign of affection?” We laugh and continue our lesson. I do miss those days._ _  
__~_

In 2353, at age sixteen, she passed the last of her entrance exams and was accepted into Starfleet Academy. She was passing acquaintances of fellow freshmen Geordi LaForge and William RIker. Burke entered the command track, majoring in Diplomatic Studies, with a focus on cultures of the Federation, minoring in security and exolinguistics. Many of her instructors were impressed by her ability to pick up and retain nuanced idiosyncrasies of alien cultures very quickly. Though, she gained a reputation as a party animal, due to her upbringing around Klingons and the Klingon way of celebrating (mainly, drinking and doing things to brag about later)

_ ~ “Alright, just one more,” I relented, already regretting the shot in my hand. It burned all the way down. I snatched the shorts from Will’s hand. From where we crouched in the bushes I could clearly see the statue of Cochrane illuminated on the far side of the lawn. The coast was clear. Someone was whispering to me to wait, but I was already eight steps into a full sprint across the open grass. There was no stopping now. I leapt over the ring of carefully tended impatiens that hugged the base of the statue. Crouched beside the base, I glanced about again. Still clear, save for the faces of my fellow cadets peeking out of the bushes nearby. It would have been difficult to scale the statue sober, but in my inebriated state, it was nearly impossible. I must have looked ridiculous clinging to the effigy of Cochrane like a spider monkey. But I made it to the summit and planted the plaid boxer shorts that were my flag on his head in victory. I don’t remember much after the light hit me in the eyes. Someone shouted at me to get down, and I heard my comrades scatter. I think I must have fallen, because I spent the next three weeks with a cast on my wrist. They will tell that story til the day I die. _ _  
_ _ ~ _ _  
_   
Despite this, she graduated 10th in her class in 2357 and was assigned as a lieutenant on the USS Edo where she assisted on diplomatic missions in the Galen Border Conflicts near Castal I. After the success of the peace treaty in 2361 she was reassigned to the USS Rutledge to serve as second lieutenant under Captain Maxwell and Tactical Officer Miles O’Brian.    
  


_ ~ Mom called again. She won’t stop carrying on about how proud she and dad are. She tries not to mention dad too much. He’s sick again, but she won’t say it. She doesn’t want me to worry. I will anyway. She tells me about how well her tomatoes are coming in and how she hasn’t heard from Selene for a while, and how Caleb and his wife, Cassandra are getting on out at Star Base 201. She asks if I can tell her anything about Stella. I tell her it’s classified, though I know very well that she simply too busy to be bothered to talk to me. That’s ok. Mom sounds disappointed, but understands. She asks me about The Rutledge and if I had any friends there yet. It’s her subtle way of asking if I had met anyone special. I joke that I’m madly in love with a Orion Dabo girl on Risa. I think I may have overstepped the sarcasm this time, when mom asked what her name was. I ask about dad, but she evades the question. It must be worse this time. I don’t push it. We say our goodbyes and “I love you”s. In the quiet minutes after her call, I know, soon I’ll have to ask for personal leave to go home… _ _  
_ _ ~ _

The next year, responding to a distress call from Setlik III, Burke was involved with the evacuation of colonists during what would be called the Setlik III Massacre and fought in the overtaking of the Barrica Encampment. She was received a medal of honor for her part in saving the colonists and detained Federation officers. The event left her with a deep seated distrust for Cardassians, leading to many bar fights with Cardassian apologists. 

_ ~ My fist hurt. It wasn’t the first time, and it sure wouldn’t be the last. How could they not see through the insincerity of the official Cardassian statement. Setlik hadn’t been a mistake. It had been a slaughter, a slaughter of civilians. Misunderstanding, my ass. “The official statement from the Cardassian High Command explained it,” the Andorian had said “They thought it was a military staging point. They didn’t mean to kill all those people.” His face had made a very satisfying crunching sound. “My apologies,” I had slurred “Your face looked like a military staging point…” I had been thrown out. Oh, well. Better than another night of drinking away the memories. Out here the wind rustled the trees as I passed quiet, dark storefronts. O’Brian was sure to rip me a new one tomorrow for this latest outburst. His words are disciplinary, but his tone and posture convey how much understands. One of these days I’ll be able to fall asleep without seeing all the faces, familiar human faces, sharp Vulcan faces, grey, ridged Cardassian faces, all still, all covered in dust and blood. Tonight would not be that night. Tonight I was looking for another drink. I wonder how many drinks my shiny new medal could buy. _ _  
_ _ ~ _

In early 2365 she was transferred to the USS Saratoga to serve as chief of security under the newly appointed Vulcan Captain Vossic and First Officer Benjamin Sisko. In 2366 the Saratoga was one of forty Federation ships in the first wave to stand against the Borg invasion of the Alpha quadrant. The Saratoga was cut down in the fray. Burke oversaw the evacuation of the ship as it was torn apart, barely escaping in one of the last pods. 

She received another commendation for valor.    
  
_ ~ As we neared the rendezvous point, I had called Edahk. It was to say goodbye. I had no expectations of survival, not against the Borg. We would fight to the bitter end, but the cost would be high. “Your heart has always been Klingon,” he had said. “Maybe it’ll be enough to come visit you in Sto’Vor”kor,” I had replied. He laughed, “maybe in many many years.” I had to go. Our final stand was upon us. Him with the Klingon response and I with the Federation blockade.  _

_ It took several weeks to regain a full recollection of the battle. “Battle” I should say. We were paper boats in a storm.  _

_ As the alarms screamed, I herded crewmen and civilians through the burning wreckage of the Saratoga to the escape pods. Vossic was dead. Sisko was nowhere to be found. He did end up escaping by the skin of his teeth. I didn’t see it myself. I had shoved the last of the civies onto a pod when the bulkhead came loose. I was told it had shattered three of my ribs, fractured a vertebrae and ruptured my kidney. I’m glad I don’t remember that part. The silver lining of concussions, I suppose. Somehow I had made it onto a pod. The months I spent in recovery were a blur of pain within and without, funeral after funeral, memorials, commendations. Selene and Stella had been on the Melbourne and Cassandra, on the Bonestell. They weren’t as lucky as I was. Or maybe they were more lucky to not have to witness the parade of mourning in the wake of Wolf 359. Who’s to know. Our family had been fractured when dad had passed, now it was shattered. Edahk was considered missing in action. I could only assume the worst. There’s only so much a heart can take. At least there was duty. Duty was a clear path forward. I supposed it was time for a walk. _ _  
_ _ ~ _

In 2367 Bruke took a position with the Federation effort to rebuild after Wolf 359. She helped negotiate trade deals, broker funding for better planetary defences for systems still vulnerable to the Borg, and oversee summits at Starfleet headquarters. Burke served briefly on the USS Cochrane as first officer, mainly shuttling Federation officers and dignitaries around the alpha quadrant before accepting the position of Captain aboard the brand new Bellerophon in 2371.   
  
_ ~ It had been a peaceful few years. It was almost like being back home, being surrounded by new faces, buttering up stuffy senators and stiff-necked generals. I got a letter from mom this morning. She’s not so lonely now that Caleb has moved home with his new wife, a Bajoran, Ize. She seems nice. I’m glad he could move on. She wishes she could have seen me address the crew as a Captain for the first time. She sent a picture of her with Caleb and Ize. I'm going to frame it. It’ll look nice in my ready room. I'll miss the Cochrane. I always wanted to tape a pair of shorts to her nose, just like old times. It's gonna be a challenge, being captain of my own vessel. But it might just be what I need. _

_ It’s about time for me to meet with the senior staff. The Shackleton Expanse won’t explore itself. _ _  
_ _ ~ _


End file.
